NBA Playoffs 2013: Knicks finally advance to second round but it wasn't easy

The Knicks didn't make it easy on themselves, as they nearly made history for the wrong reasons by almost blowing a 26-point lead. But in the end they were able to weather the storm in an 88-80 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

The near botching by the Knicks was apropos considering nothing came easy for the team this series, not even when they built a seemingly comfortable 3-0 series lead. But in the end, New York did just enough to hold off the hard-charging Celtics.

While Carmelo Anthony had 21 points and J.R. Smith added 13 points, there were more times than head coach Mike Woodson would care to remember when the offense bogged down and the turnovers mounted.

The Knicks should be commended for finally exorcising their postseason demons and advancing to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 13 years, but if they want to go even deeper than that, they'll need to shore up some things.

Boston was down by as many as 26 points in the fourth quarter, but scratched and clawed back into the game on the strength of Jeff Green and Avery Bradley. But the more pressing problem during that stretch was how stagnant the offense got at times.

It took an Anthony 3-pointer, a Smith and-one, and an Iman Shumpert steal and coast-to-coast layup late in the fourth to eventually stave off the Celtics. But the type of lapses the Knicks endured during that run may eventually catch up to them as they'll now face the rugged Indiana Pacers -- a far bigger threat to the No. 2 seeded Knicks.

The fact that Bradley scored all of his 10 points in the final stanza, after being shut out in the first three quarters, is troubling because the defensive-oriented guard isn't known for putting the ball in the hole. If Bradley was able to get buckets imagine what someone like George Hill could do in the next round. Hopefully for the Knicks, this was an anomaly because the Pacers play just as solid a defense as the Celtics, but are also far more competent on the offensive end.

New York will certainly need Anthony and Smith to be spectacular, but they'll also need guys like Raymond Felton, Shumpert,and Pablo Prigioni to continue ascending. Prigioni in particular will be counted on to continue to set the tone in the opening quarter with not only his stellar defense but knocking down shots, which isn't his strong suit as he can be a reluctant shooter at times -- even when left wide open.

Hopefully for New York, Prigioni's newfound keenness to shoot, Felton's continued strong play, and Shumpert's improving jumpshot are signs of things to come. Because if not, the Knicks might not be so fortunate in the next round against a Pacers' squad that is almost a mirror image of the Knicks.